This invention relates to a lift assembly that can be used both by passengers on foot and by passengers in wheelchairs in boarding or getting off a vehicle, such as a bus.
Heretofore, commercial lift assemblies for use by the handicapped in connection with buses and the like have usually involved a large one-piece platform that pivots about its inner edge from a vertical stored position in the doorway to a horizontal floor-level loading position. When in the horizontal position, the platform may be lowered and raised with a passenger aboard between grade and the bus floor level.
A problem with this prior art type of lift assembly is that it cannot conveniently be used by foot passengers. The problem has until now been dealt with by providing a vehicle with two entrances. The lift assembly is mounted in one entrance for use by handicapped passengers, and a conventional step assembly is mounted in the other entrance for use by foot passengers.
It is therefore the object of this invention to provide a lift assembly which can be mechanically converted from a stationary step assembly to a movable lift assembly. This would make it possible for a single entrance unit to be used for both handicapped and non-handicapped passengers.